Do You Really Need 850 Ponies? Yes, When They're Inside a Supercharged Coupe!

And I don't feel sorry for that even a tiny bit. Don't call me egotistical; I just caught up with all the cool stuff when I returned from Basque Country. That's an autonomous region of Spain where the Atlantic coast of South France meets with the portion belonging to Northern Spain, and great things happen in between – like tapas, fancy beaches, boat rides, and palm trees.

Oh, and let us not forget about 'fiesta' – which is not the Spanish equivalent of the Italian 'la dolce vita' because they like to run around the streets with bulls, dance at traditional music festivals, and feel like twelve-year-olds at the county fairs (just like it happened to me). In more than one word, vacation in Spain is cooler than a bespoke Rolls-Royce Cullinan. And a lot more affordable, even with the most recent price hikes caused by pesky inflation.

By the way, it's still more affordable to do a tapas run across the famous old town parts of San Sebastian (the one with the renowned film festival, of course) than to run around the region in a rental car, I'll tell you that. So, let's raise a glass of 'mosto' (a sweet drink) because no alcohol is allowed on board and discuss the novelties of the past two weeks instead of just the one we are about to wrap up.

No worries, I will not keep you long with my 'ICYMI' (in case you missed it) exposé because it's summer and some automakers have indeed gone on vacation. So, aside from trifle matters like the fact that electric cars are not selling all that well – which is disputed by Tesla's Model Y selling almost 200k units during the first six months of the year in America alone and then going on to take the full crown (irrespective of powertrain) in Europe – I noticed a couple of cool cars that would adorn my dream garage without giving the purchase a second's thought.

Let's start with the tamer one – even if this car is anything but. Hyundai, which along with Kia, is turning into one of my all-time favorite automakers because of their audacity to innovate in a positive way (unlike BMW, which is doing the exact opposite and fighting to make me hate it after decades of flaming passion), unleashed the 641-horsepower Hyundai Ioniq 5 N at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Hopefully, nothing will be the same in the field of compact electric CUVs, and it will give Tesla a jolt to revamp the Model Y bestseller as fast as possible.

Moving on, Aston Martin decided to celebrate in style its 110th anniversary – and add increased valor to its model lineup. Yep, I had to do a pun (for better or worse) on the fresh Aston Martin Valour, a limited-edition model that should be the star of the next James Bond movie with or without a new actor cast in 007's role. If they give us the rumble of the twin-turbo 5.2-liter V12, we don't even need a human at the wheel. Luckily, the car does require a driver to operate as this is all nostalgia impersonated – just 110 units will be produced, and over 700 ponies will be sent to the wheels via a unique six-speed manual transmission!

Aaaaaand, we kind of wrapped the essential novelties of the second week of July. The third one is about to run its natural course, too, and I beg to get my ideas contradicted, but once again, we can only speak of two significant OEM introductions. Those are, of course, Chevrolet's 2024 Traverse, a full-size crossover SUV that's not just a 'baby Tahoe' but also a street hoot in RS form or a wannabe off-road expert in Z71 guise. All in all, not a bad effort from the GM team, even though not everyone will be in love with the truck-inspired front end. Oh well, fans are still waiting for a true heir to the K5 Blazer times, so they may never be satisfied.

Secondly, there's another Hyundai to look after when it crosses the street – the 2024 model year, fifth-generation Santa Fe. No first-to-fourth-iteration owner will ever recognize it as part of the official canon. However, there you go, this South Korean automaker shows it's not afraid to constantly reinvent itself – mostly with positive outcomes. This Defender-like boxy design is going to elicit some big passions. Still, I will hold my tongue for the official world premiere set for August – that's when we will hear all about the specifications, powertrains, and high-tech goodies at large.

Thirdly, let me tell you that although I fully support Dodge's decision to embark on the EV journey with its upcoming production version of the Charger Daytona SRT Concept, I still consider Ford kind of genius for continuing to offer the Mustang line with ICE(y) credentials. Not only does the S650 ameliorate all the weak points of its predecessor and still looks great, but it's also an excellent platform for aftermarket tinkering, as always. And, just in case you needed an eloquent example about what could be done with the 500-hp V8-powered Ford Mustang Dark Horse aside from motorsport derivations, Hennessey just drove the point home in an 850-hp, supercharged way that should be completely unforgettable.

If I had the money, I would simply pocket the 850-hp Hennessey H850 Dark Horse and then laugh at the thought of a quarter-mile dragstrip encounter with the 670-hp Chevy Corvette Z06 or 655-hp E-Ray. Then, of course, I would also order the latter to ensure I don't miss on the all-year-round eAWD fun… Who knows, maybe they will find a way to fiddle with its power, too, and they will be on a level playing field!